Welcome to the Storytime at Home series! Every other week, we share a list of book options tied to a kid-approved theme, a craft you can set up to go along with the theme, songs/rhymes you can do during storytime, and additional enrichment activities. All books are available at Richmond Public Library, and crafts will involve items you likely have at home already! Our hope is that we can make it easy for you to share stories with your little ones and create a little bit of library magic at home.
P.S. Love library storytimes? Take a look at all in-library storytime options here. There is a storytime for your child every morning at our various branches!
Okay, now to the fun stuff…
Today’s storytime theme is DUCKS!
A duck theme is one of my personal favorites to explore with young children. Not only are their noises hilarious – who doesn’t love to quack?! – but their beaks, feet, wings, and swimming abilities give us so much to observe and discuss. We can also count ducks, look at their colors, note differences across different types of ducks, and more. Reading about ducks invites fun and silliness, and we hope you enjoy it as much as we do. The library has many wonderful books about ducks, and we’ve included some of our favorites below. When you visit, you can also search ‘duck’ in our catalog or ask a librarian to help you find the perfect one for you and your child.
Books
Reading to your kiddos turns them into confident thinkers. Making books a regular part of your daily routine is a great way to build children’s love of reading and learning. Storytimes also help build excitement around reading to support their literacy development.
Here are a few book options you can choose from for your duck-themed storytime.
Preschool
- Dump Truck Duck by Megan Bryant
- I Can Help by David Costello
- Duck to the Rescue by John Himmelman
- Do Like A Duck Does by Judy Hindley
- The Duck Never Blinks by Alex Latimer
- Duck! by Megan McKinlay
- Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli
- One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root
- Duck! Rabbit! By Amy Rosenthal
- Duck On A Bike by David Shannon
- Sitting Duck by Jackie Urbanovic
- The Duckling Gets A Cookie!? by Mo Willems
- Duddle Puck: The Puddle Duck by Karma Wilson
Toddler/Baby
- Happy Hippo, Angry Duck: A Book of Moods by Sandra Boynton
- 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
- Splish, Splash, Ducky! By Lucy Cousins
- Duck Sock Hop by Jane Kohuth
- Chicken, Chicken, Duck! By Nadia Krilanovich
- I Kissed The Baby! By Mary Murphy
- Five Little Ducks by Raffi
- Mail Duck: A Book of Shapes and Surprises by Erica Sirotich
There are many ways to make reading fun and engaging for your little one! Click the arrow below to see some of our favorite tips for bringing stories to life at home.
Click here to see some of our favorite reading tips
- Point at the pictures and ask your child what they see. Help build their vocabulary by pointing to pictures and saying the word aloud.
- Ask your child questions about the story: What do you think will happen next? How do you think this character is feeling? This character is wearing a bathing suit; do you remember when we wore ours?
- Read with expression and enthusiasm, and use different voices for different characters.
- Act out what’s happening in the story.
- As your child gets older, count objects in a book, discuss the different colors they see, point out shapes in the story, etc.
- Snuggle up and be patient. Reading is great bonding time for you and your child. Take your time walking them through the story. If your child wants to turn the page or be finished with reading, that’s OK too. You don’t have to read every word or even every page for reading with your little one to be beneficial for their development.
Songs and Rhymes
We love adding songs and rhymes to our storytimes. This is a great way to practice language with your child and support their physical (motor) development through movement.
Here are two songs and rhymes you can use for this themed storytime.
Sing: All The Little Ducks
Tune: Wheels on the Bus
Lean over to the side as if you’re going upside
down as you sing
All the little ducks go upside down,
upside down, upside down,
All the little ducks go upside down
as they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
Snap hands together like a beak as you sing
All their little beaks go snap, snap, snap,
snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap,
All their little beaks go snap, snap, snap,
as they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
Wiggle your bottom as you sing
All their little tails go wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
wiggle, waggle, wiggle, wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
All their little tails go wiggle, waggle, wiggle,
as they dabble at the bottom of the pond.
Movement Song: Put Your Hands Up High
Tune: Do Your Ears Hang Low
Do each movement as you sing it
Put your hands up high
Put your hands down low
Put your hands in the middle
And wiggle them so
Put your elbows in the front
Put your elbows in the back
Put your elbows to the side
And quack, quack, quack!
Arts and Crafts
Adding a craft along with a book is a great way to continue allowing your child to learn, explore, and grow. Crafts are a nice supplement as they encourage motor development, creativity, self-confidence, and more.
In fact, art and craft activities:
- Build fine motor skills. Actions such as painting, coloring, gluing, and cutting develop small muscles in small hands and improve coordination skills as children learn to use both hands at the same time.
- Support early literacy. When children make art, they learn vocabulary and how to follow directions when getting verbal instructions from parents and caregivers. They also boost their communication skills via talking about their work!
- Teach early math concepts. Math skills are used frequently in arts and crafts. Kids learn about and recognize different shapes, count and sort art supplies, and even measure out materials.
- Encourage creativity. Art helps develop creativity, self-expression, problem-solving, and curiosity.
- Boost self-esteem. Doing arts and crafts can give children a sense of achievement and allow them to take pride in their work, which builds confidence.
- Offer bonding time. Kids love spending quality time with parents and caregivers, and arts and crafts are a great opportunity for this.
Here is a craft activity you can do along with the duck theme.
Duck Finger Puppet Craft
Materials Needed
- Colored cardstock
- Cupcake liners*
- 3/4 inch circle hole punch*
- Googly eyes
- Glue
- Scissors
*Optional; can be replaced with paper and scissors
Source: I Heart Crafty Things
Directions
- Cut out two circles. One should be about 3.5 inches and the other about 2.5 inches.
- Punch (or cut) two holes in the bottom of the larger circle. These are the holes for your finger.
- Glue the smaller circle to the top of the larger circle, making sure to leave the cut out holes at the bottom.
- Cut out a beak and glue it onto construction paper. Then, if desired, add googly eyes (or draw them on).
- Cut a cupcake liner in half and then cut one of the halves in half again to make two triangle duck wings. Glue one of each side of the duck. (You can also cut triangles from paper if that’s easier and what you have on hand!).
Additional Enrichment Ideas
The fun doesn’t have to end at books, songs, and a craft. There are many ways to enrich a storytime with additional activities and lessons. Here are a few ideas for you and your child:
- Visit the ducks at local parks including Maymont Farm, Dorey Park, Deep Run Park, and more.
- Attend the RVA Duck Race & Festival of Inclusion on Saturday, August 3 from 11 AM to 4 PM. This festival is hosted by the Autism Society of Central Virginia, and features a rubber ducky drop and race. It’s open to all families and will have music, activities, vendors, food, and more. (Hot tip: Our Summer Reading Program Finale is from 10 AM to 2 PM, so you could visit us in the morning and check out ducks in the afternoon!)
- Feeling extra crafty? Try this paper plate magnetic duck pond craft or do some paint stamping with rubber ducks.
- Set up your very own sensory duck pond at home with a few rubber duckies, some foam, water, and a plastic bag.
- Buy a bag of “duck” feathers and have fun manipulating them with your child. Play music and toss them up in the air. Watch them fall back down, collect them, and use them to form little pillows or to tickle your little one.
- Teach your child to play Duck, Duck, Goose!
We share these Storytime at Home posts twice a month, so be sure to check back soon for more. You can also search “#storytimeathome” to see all past posts.
Have a suggestion for the next theme we cover? Email Sarah at sarah.fenninger@rva.gov and let us know!
